Chapter 23 | Magda-drive ako hanggang..

Nagising si Seulgi sa ingay ng kalansing na nanggagaling sa kusina. This is something new. She immediately took her phone from her bedside table at nakitang halos alas onse na rin pala ng umaga. Mukhang napasarap ang tulog niya. She wonders if it was because her heart was swelling from much happiness. Having that dinner with her dad was really a turning point in their relationship as father and daughter. Marami rin siyang na-realize.

Her dad is right.

But in her defense, she couldn’t let go easily of the fact that while trying to make your decisions to make yourself happy, you would hurt people close to you in exchange. She cannot do that to Wendy. Nor disappoint her mom and lolo. Her happiness, well that, could come later. She thinks she could endure much longer.

And besides, Irene takes her mind off of things she’s not in control.

Irene. Why does she even think of Irene at this moment? Umagang pagmumuni-muni pa lang pero si Irene na naman ang nasa isip niya. If this were her old self who hasn’t been confused with Irene’s existence, this would be an impossibility. But lately, she’s been dying to know what Irene does every single second of the day. She knows, this feeling is becoming a problem. Sooner or later, this would be a big mess. She just hopes that Wendy and Joy would get together soon, or she’ll run out of options but feel deeper than this.

Umupo siya sa kama at pumikit. Huminga ng malalim at nag-inat bago buksan uli ang mga mata. Today marks the start of another week to be alive.

“Good morning, my favorite cousin in the world!” Halos zombie na tonong bati ni Seulgi sa pinsan pagkapunta niya sa kitchen. It still feels surreal to have someone waking you up with the sound of pots clanking together.

“Pinagsasasabi mo dyan? Ako lang naman pinsan mo!” Irap ni Wendy sa pinsan niyang hindi niya alam kung may plema ba ang utak. Hindi niya pa rin mahanap kung nasaan ba yung measuring cup. Or kung meron ba talaga.

“Exactly my point!” Natatawang sagot ni Seulgi. She noticed na parang may hinahanap nga ang pinsan niya dahil nakakalat na yung mga gamit galing sa mga cabinet nila. She never knew there were this much stuff inside those. She wasn’t much of the cook anyway, since she always ordered food or ate outside. Aside from the basic pots and kettle, wala naman siyang ibang kailangan when it comes to kitchen stuff. Master Chef na bang matatawag kung chopsticks ang gamit niya sa pagluluto?

Tinignan ni Seulgi si Wendy na magsalansan ng kung anu-ano galing sa mga cabinet. “Ano ba kasi yung hinahanap mo?”

“Yung measuring cup.” Wendy pouted. Kanina pa kasi siya naghahanap talaga.

“Isn’t it this?” Nakita agad ni Seulgi yung hinahanap ni Wendy sa likod nito. She found it inside a box that says ‘baking stuff’.

“Wow, what would I do without you?” Lumapit si Wendy sa pinsan para kunin ang measuring cup. Hindi niya kasi alam kung paano tatantiyahin yung flour.

“You’re baking?” Tanong ni Seulgi. She starts clearing the mess her cousin made.

“Yikes! Now that I found it, parang ayoko na umpisahan. I made a big mess even before I start.” Bumuntong-hininga na lang si Wendy at akmang tutulungan si Seulgi. She was actually excited to bake since during weekends, she spends time with her parents doing this.

Kinuha ni Seulgi yung hawak ni Wendy. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean this up and you can start baking. Just make sure matutuwa ako sa ibe-bake mo!”

“Are you sure?” Wendy feels bad just looking at everything.

“Thanks to you, we now have a can opener!” Seulgi held the said thing in her hand and smiled at her cousin. “Sige na, just do your thing. Tulungan mo na lang ako kapag napasok mo na sa oven ‘yan.” She tries to reassure her cousin. Ang cute talaga ni Wendy, she’s so innocent like this.

“As if naman we’re going to use that?” Wendy started to prepare the cake batter.

“Maybe we will. You’ll